We did it in one day. Start at 4, back at 5 in the afternoon. MR up, normal route down. It was in june last year. There was a lot of snow, which made the descent quicker. We used ice axe, crampons, helmet.Good luck, it's a beautiful route!

ChristopherFranklin wrote:Hey everyone I'm new and looking for info on this route gear, nav, best spots to camp...thanks in advance.

Did you look on the Mt. Whitney page under "Mountains & Rocks"? Scroll up to the top where the summitpost logo is, then look at the blue bar beneath it. Scroll over where it says "Mountains & Rocks", click on it, then enter "Whitney" in the search box. A table will come up and you should find Mt. Whiteny on it. Click open that page and the "Routes" list will be in the column on the left. The Mt. Whitney page itself will have info on getting access to the area.

To answer your questions it would be useful to know when you want to go and what your experience is with stuff like that.

Assuming that you want to go now, then I would say, based on when we descended it a few weeks ago after climbing the East Buttress:

There is no snow whatsoever on the upper 2/3 of route and below that snow can be avoided, if there even is snow. That also means you will climb on sand, scree and other unpleasant stuff which you can kick down or might be kicked down onto you. The route is a lot more pleasant when we did it in snow conditions last year.

I was planning on doing it next July but it sounds like some snow would make it easier going. I've climbed Arizona's tallest. I have zero experience with crampons and axe however I do have experience rock climbing. So I guess I'll shoot for May and get comfortable on crampons this winter. What about the permits the walk through on this site is kinda confusing on the subject of permits.

You can get permits on recreation.gov. The most commonly used trailhead for this route is North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. For these, there is no lottery, you just need to be fast in booking when they become available. If that fails you can try to get a walk-in permit at the ranger station.

Many people would consider going before May, if weather and avalanche conditions are good, since no permits are needed then.

ChristopherFranklin wrote:Thanks for the info everyone! Are ropes nessesary? Also I'm a little confused on the permits I understand it's done online now. It do you still need to submit for 2013 in February?

You are confusing the lottery with the wilderness permit. The mr is not on the lottery, and you can actually show up the prior day to get a permit for the next day if you'd like. I would highly suggest doing it as a day hike, as it's a real pia bringing overnight gear on that trail. Also, no ropes are needed unless there is a ton of snow, which isn't likely at the time of year you are going. You may need an ice axe/crampons for the culoir, however.